The Best Cyberpunk I Have Read

What did you like best about this story?

I generally don't like cyberpunk. Gibson's Neuromancer left me cold. But Williams, in my opinion, is a better and more versatile writer. I listened to this book because he wrote it.

I was not disappointed. The cyberpunk aspects of the story serve to enhance the characterization and the setting and do not dominate.

The story is told from the perspectives of Cowboy and Sarah. Both are interesting characters and I never found myself wanting to finish one POV so I could get to the other, which sometimes happens when the story is told from multiple viewpoints.

The conflict with the orbitals is resolved in a way that flows naturally from the story and does not feel forced. A poor resolution could have wrecked my view of the book no matter how good the rest of the story.

Finally, Stefan Rudnicki does an excellent job of making the various characters distinct. I have not read the print version, buit I suspect the audio version is a better experience because of Runicki's narration.

8 people found this helpful

Good Listen

Very good narrator, story is from 2 points of view and takes a little bit to get used to but works great. I have listened to this book twice already.

6 people found this helpful

Very enjoyable Cyberpunk tale

I'm a big fan of Richard K. Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs stories and this is an obvious precursor. The story is a little complex, but nowhere near as hard to follow as any of Morgan's. Williams writes well and avoids sentimentality. I especially enjoyed the character whose brain is absorbed into cyberspace.

3 people found this helpful

For those interested in Cyberpunk 2077

I’m a former US Air Force SSgt and a retired Policeman. I really enjoyed the way Mr Williams described the human condition during conflict. I’ve been in several fights where my life was at stake. I’ve even been shot at point blank range, and I feel that Mr Williams captured this mindset. It’s also interesting to see how this 1980’s fiction captures so many of the things seen now.

2 people found this helpful

Surprised it took so long to find

I love this book. it is simple and straight forward with no interweaving thousand character narration. From it though comes so much of what makes modern sci-fi/cyberpunk. story is great narration perfect. Easily a top sci-fi book.

1 person found this helpful

A well told story set in a depressing future

A hard boiled, cyberpunk styled tale of two very different people just getting by, in a very depressing, but scary believable and essentially balkanized, former United States. The world is now run by various corporations that don't even reside on the planet. They hover above it and manipulate life below without being part of it. There are social classes built around them and a whole slew of other things that the author builds in his vision of earth's future.

Through a series of events in the story, the two main character's, Cowboy, an ex-fighter pilot turned bootlegger and Sarah, a sometimes body guard, thug and killer for hire, find that their lives have become intertwined. The pace of the story became a little slow for me in the middle, but on the whole, this was an excellent story and I think worth your credit. If you are a fan of the cyberpunk genre and or Richard K. Morgan, Neal Stephenson, William Gibson and their like, then Hardwired should be an satisfying choice for you.

Also, veteran narrator, Stefan Rudnicki was definitely on top of his game reading this one. He has, for me, the kind of voice that can sometimes distract me from the story that I'm trying to listen to. Other times, I find that he throttles back his voice a little too much and in some cases, sounds a bit monotoned and unexciting, In Hardwired. I think he chose just the right balance.

3 people found this helpful

Nauseating Narration. Tried for 90min. Has to stop

The story dives in hard, feeble explaination of the world. I had to stop after 90 painful minutes of gut cramping narration. Its almost like someone trying to do an impression of a radio announcer talking through a block of cheese while doing an impression of an audio book narrator. Its just flatly terrible narration in an artificial voice.

Yawnnnn

I was hoping for more action not day time soap. Way too much; who will betray whom and not enough protagonist let’s get it done action. Even when the “hero” succeeded it was questionable as to who was the victor? Spent more time learning about drug use and living with the aid of pharmaceuticals. Wish more time was spent on antagonist vs hero and his compatriots. Listening to the characters inner voice of: should I turn left and duck or stay and not engage, seemed to be the running narrative rather than the story moving forward. Gave it listen to the end in hopes of accomplishing a culmination/victory. Sadly the end of the story was foreshadowed and not a surprise or satisfying.

wanted to like it

narrators voice was monotone and slurred his words, continuously jumping from present to past, couldn't finish first chapter

Fails on the narration

The story was a hard listen. The 'Marlboro-Man' narration makes this audio book sound dated, unfortunately.